The document discusses a study that assessed students' awareness and use of psychological counseling services at a public university in Ethiopia. The study found that demographic factors like gender and year of study influenced students' awareness and use of counseling services. Male students had lower awareness than females. Over 60% of students prioritized counseling services but their use varied based on place of origin and academic year. Students believed counseling contributed to their academic success. The study concluded that counseling services play an important role in students' university life but awareness and use of services needs to be improved, especially among male students.

1. ABSTRACT
Guidance and counseling programs are effective in assisting young students in various
aspects like academic achievement, study habits and choosing appropriate careers. A study
was conducted in a public university in Ethiopia among 605 regular undergraduate students.
Its objective was to investigate the students’ awareness and use of Psychological Counseling
Service at Higher Education Institutions. The study results show that demographic variables were
strongly accounted for the variances in awareness of psychological counseling and use of the
service. Majority of the male students (67.8%) had not heard about the presence of psychological
counseling service while 24.3% of female students did not know about such a service. More
than 60% of the study participants gave top priority for psychological counseling service in
higher education institutions. Students’ year of study and place of residence were significantly
associated with the students rating of crisis intervention and emergency services, χ2 (9)=23.40,
p<.01. The importance given to psychological counseling services also varied based on the place
of origin and academic year of the students. Students believed psychological counseling service
contributed to their academic success. Implications are discussed.
Key words: Counseling Information, Counseling Role, Counseling Service, Higher Education
Institutions, Psychological Service
INTRODUCTION
A rapidly changing work environment and labor force, expec-
tations and changes in schools, and communities, teenage sui-
cide, substance abuse, and sexual experimentation are just a
few examples of the challenges young people are facing every
day. Such hurdles are real, and they are having an extensive
impact on the personal/social, career, and academic develop-
ment of children, and young people (Yilfashewa, 2011). Indi-
viduals seeks help to deal with his/her psychological problems
and the presence of services can greatly contribute to them
overcoming the crisis. Most of the time, people talk to their
family, friends, neighbors, priests, or medical doctors to over-
come their mental traumas. However, seldom, their advice is
not sufficient. Also, individuals are ashamed to tell them what
is bothering or the entire truth; thus limiting their ability to
give appropriate guidance. That is, we just do not have an ap-
propriate person to turn to (Marín, 2006; McLeod, 2003).
Scholars in the field recommend that comprehensive
guidance and counseling programs are effective in assisting
young students, along with their parents. It is hoped that if
the university counselors have time, and sufficient resourc-
es, young students’ academic performances will improve.
Guidance-counseling interventions advance the academic
achievement of students, help them to develop career plans,
and create a conducive educational setting (Yilfashewa, 2011).
Published by Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.
Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.7n.4p.53
However, in Ethiopia, regardless of the multidimensional
benefits of counseling, the profession is at its grass root lev-
el. According to Abdi (1998), modern counseling services
are restricted to the high school setting. On the other hand,
this type of services is insignificant in a non-academic en-
vironment. It was in the 1960s that the concept of guidance
first appeared in the Ethiopian educational system. Further-
more, the course guidance and counseling was included in
the educational curriculum of the country in 1967 (Abdi,
1998). Also, many studies were conducted in different Af-
rican countries including Ethiopia (Marín, 2006; Oakland &
Peresuh, 1997).
According to Alem et al (1995) the prevalence of mental
health disorder was 12% among Ethiopian society. 38.3%
university students faced mental health issues (Getachew &
Tekle, 2018). Two mostly used methods to treat the prob-
lem are traditional and modern therapy. Even though both
traditional, and modern methods are currently available in
Ethiopia to treat mental disorders, traditional methods are
preferred by many people because society believes that all
mental disorders are spiritual in origin, which can easily be
cured by traditional healers. Furthermore, traditional healers
are usually cheaper than modern healers (Alem et al., 1995).
In Ethiopia, the existing services are established without
assessing the real needs of a particular organization to which
the service is provided. But, in advanced countries each and
International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies
ISSN: 2202-9478
www.ijels.aiac.org.au
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students
Abera Getachew*
Department of Psychology, Institute of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Ambo University, Ethiopia
Corresponding author: Abera Getachew, E-mail: abegeta12@gmail.com
ARTICLE INFO
Article history
Received: April 24, 2019
Accepted: October 13, 2019
Published: October 31, 2019
Volume: 7 Issue: 4
Conflicts of interest: None
Funding: None

2. 54 IJELS 7(4):53-61
every counseling service is developed based on the specific
needs of that organization or community. The arrangements
and structures of the existing counseling services in Ethio-
pia are not properly formulated and designed. Even, at Addis
Ababa University (AAU), our country’s oldest university, it
is difficult to say the counseling center has been providing
sufficient services; resultant effect of professional and ad-
ministrative related problems as well as it is not properly
structured (Getachew, Daniel, & Abayineh, 2019).
One of the main causes of students’ failure to complete
their studies in institutions of higher education is because
of emotional disorders (Desta, 1995; Getachew, & Tekle,
2018). During an interview at the counseling center of Ad-
dis Ababa University, Desta (1995) noticed that some learn-
ers’ with mental problems spoke that the problems happen
because of lack of access to effective counseling services.
Most Ethiopian universities have recognized that guidance
and counseling are essential for students’ academic success.
Although the Universities have included it, in their senate
legislations, the service given is, however, not effective and
remains below expectation (Higher Education Relevance
Quality Assurance Agencies (HERQA, 2009a). Also, the
service is dysfunctional in some universities. Furthermore,
HERQA (2009b) reported that officers’ were overwhelmed
by other additional responsibilities and did not carry out
counseling tasks effectively.
The counseling services for students of Ethiopian universi-
ties have been given by paraprofessionals and others. Despite
the existence of counseling services, it is very challenging to
get it when needed by the students. Nowadays, the government
is giving much emphasis on technology and natural sciences.
The technology and natural sciences might have negatively
contributed to the expansion of counseling services in higher
education. Because of the importance given to natural science
and engineering fields, many students may join the fields with-
out their interest. From this, it is easy to infer that students re-
quire much more professional help to overcome their stress.
Complicated sexual life, drug addiction, irresponsibili-
ty, dropout, and academic dismissal are common problems
in Ethiopian universities. It is essential to help students to
manage their stress, improve academic achievement and mo-
tivation. In addition to academic problems, counseling may
help the students to refrain from drug addiction, unwanted
pregnancy, violence, and the like.
The roles and functions of counseling psychologist in
universities and colleges are more comprehensive in scope.
According to Sokol, (2009), counseling psychologists are in-
volved with a wide variety of practices. They function within
several settings. However, employment of counseling psy-
chologist in colleges and universities is not taken seriously
as a necessity. The role of university counselors in higher
education institutions is very crucial in resolving social, psy-
chological, academic, and other emotional problems experi-
enced by the students.
University represents a time of tremendous change for
students. In each semester, students are exposed to new
teachers, students, friends and lovers (Grayson, & Meilman,
2006; Getachew, Daniel, & Abayineh, 2019). There is also
a series of normal developmental changes in identity for-
mation, the establishment of intimate relationships, and the
selection of a career path. Adapting to the changes during
university life vary among the students. Students’counselors
should advance themselves to be an answer to the stress and
strain of University life. Psychological disorders and related
factors are no longer anomalies; rather, they are a part of
university life (Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2004).
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Individual and Group Counselling
These are services that address such issues as educational,
career, personal, developmental, and relationship concerns.
Crisis Intervention and Emergency Services
These are services that provide or arrange for the provision
of emergency services for students who are experiencing
acute emotional distress which are a danger to self or others,
or are in need of immediate hospitalization.
Outreach Interventions
These are services that focus on developmental needs of stu-
dents and help students to: maximize the potential to benefit
from academic experience; acquire new knowledge, skills
and behaviours; develop positive and realistic self-appraisal;
foster personal, academic and career choices; enhance the
ability to relate mutually and meaningfully with others; and
increase the capacity to engage in a personally satisfying and
effective style of living.
Consultation Interventions
These are the consultation services to faculty and other ap-
propriate campus personnel, regarding individual students to
parents, spouses, agencies, and others concerned respecting
confidentiality requirements to make appropriate administra-
tive or academic decisions.
Referral Resources
These are services that provide referral resources within the
university and the local community to meet the needs of stu-
dents whose problems are outside the scope of services or
resources of the counselling centre.
Research
These are activities which help us determine effectiveness,
and to improve the quality of services of the counselling cen-
tre; identify determinants and correlates on student character-
istics or on the influence of specific student development pro-
grams; ensure that accepted ethical practices are established
and maintained; contribute to the fields of counselling, psy-
chology, and other relevant professions (e.g., student affairs,
student personnel services, social work, psychiatry); and gen-
erate data/information at campus as well as national level.

3. Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students 55
Program Evaluation
This is the regular review of the counselling service based
on data from centre evaluation efforts. When possible, it is
desirable to include comparative data from other counselling
centres of other universities and related institutions.
Professional Development
These are services that offer staff members/interns/trainees,
etc., of the counselling centre per se and also the wider uni-
versity community with regular opportunities to upgrade
their skills by providing them with training, professional
development and continuing education experience through
different channels, such as, case conferences, workshops,
conferences, etc.
Training Programs
These are services designed to contribute to the development
of practitioners in relevant professions including counselling
psychology, psychiatry, social work, public health, special
needs in education, etc., through the internship, externship,
fellowship, student exchange schemes.
Objectives
The objectives of the study were as follows:
1 To investigate students awareness about counseling ser-
vice at a public university in Ethiopia;
2 To assess the role of counseling service in students’Uni-
versity life; and
3 To examine association of socio-demographic variables
on awareness and use of psychological counselling ser-
vices at the University.
METHODS
Study Design and Area
A cross-sectional study design was conducted among 605
public University students randomly taken in March 2017.
A quantitative approach was employed. The university is
located 430km to the Southeast of the Capital city, Addis
Ababa. It is a public university that hosts a total of 12190
postgraduate and undergraduate students’ under41 depart-
ments distributed in 8 colleges, an institute, and a school.
The colleges and schools include:- college of social science
and humanities, education and behavioral studies, business
and economics, agriculture and natural resources, natu-
ral and computational science, health sciences; school of
law, and institute of technology. Moreover, it is important to
indicate that the university has one health science campus in
Goba and another non-health science campus in Robe town.
In this study counseling service meant professional help
provided to individuals (both students and staffs) in the
participating organizations who are in need of help because
of having psychological, educational, social and occupation-
al problems.
Sampling and Participants
The source population for this study was public university
undergraduate students. Sample size was calculated using
single population proportion formula. The following as-
sumptions were used: counseling service proportion which
was 50%; level of confidence of 95%, margin of error 0.05,
design effect of 1.5 and 5% non-response rate. The sample
size was 605. The allocation of the respondents was pro-
portionally done for each school/college. Simple random
sampling was employed thereafter to reach 605 of the study
subjects.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data were obtained through a self-administered question-
naire. Data collection facilitators were fluent speakers of
both Afan Oromo and Amharic language. The questionnaire
was first developed in English and then, translated to Afan
Oromo and Amharic for data collection purpose. Question-
naire was translated to the local language (Afan Oromo
Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of respondents
N %
Sex
Male 452 74.7
Female 153 25.3
Residential status
Urban 239 39.5
Rural 361 59.7
Age
16-20 194 32.1
21-25 353 58.3
26-30 47 7.8
31-35 11 1.8
Academic year level
First 244 40.3
Second 203 33.5
Third 138 22.7
Fourth 20 3.6
Table 2. Frequency of participants by types of disability
N %
Any type of disability
Yes 31 5.1
No 570 94.2
Missing 4 0.07
Total 601 100
Specific type of disability
Visual 6 20
Auditory 17 56.7
Orthopedic 7 23.3
Total 30 100

4. 56 IJELS 7(4):53-61
and Amharic) and translated back to English by different
linguistics experts. Data entry and analysis were carried out
in SPSS, version 21.
Ethical Consideration
The research was approved by Madda Walabu University
Ethical Review Committee. A supportive letter was written
to all school and colleges from the University Research Di-
rectorate. The purpose of the study was explained, and con-
sent obtained orally from all participants. All the information
given by the respondents were used only for research pur-
poses, and its confidentiality was maintained.
FINDINGS
The socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
are presented in Table 1. A total of 605 participants were in-
cluded in the study. As the table indicates, 452(74.7%) of
the participants were male, whereas the rest 153(25.3%) of
participants were female.
Majority of the respondents 353(58.3%) were of 21-
25 years. On the other hand, 194 (32.1 %) of them were
in the 16-20 years age category. Urban resident were
239(39.5%) and a large number of the respondents were ru-
ral residents 361 (59.7%). Proportion of year one (I) partici-
pants were more than the respondents in other years of study:
244(40.3%) first years against 203 (33.5%), 138 (22.7%) and
20 (3.6%) respectively of year II, III, and IV.
Table 2 depicts that 31 (5.1%) of the students report-
ed that they had an apparent disability which constitutes,
17(56.7%) auditory, 7(23.3%) skeletal disability and 6(20%)
visual whereas the remaining 570(94.2) students indicated
that they do not have any apparent disability.
Table 3 shows that students from urban area scored
M = 2.78 (SD=.46) cumulative GPA and students from rural
area scored a cumulative GPA of M = 2.80 (SD=.48). Sim-
ilarly, students from urban areas scored M=2.83 (SD=.46)
GPA for the last semester and students rural areas scored
M=2.88 (SD=.47) GPA score in the last semester. Though
not significant, students from rural area and male students
did better academically than their counterparts.
Table 4 an independent sample t-test was conducted to
measure the difference between male and female students’
cumulative GPA score and GPA for the last semester. The
t-test result indicated that there was a significant difference
in the cumulative GPA scores for male (M=2.83 SD=.47) and
female students (M=2.70, SD=.47), t (603) =3.05, p <.01.
However, there was no significant GPA difference between
male (M=2.87, SD=.47) and female students (M=2.83,
SD=.47) for the last semester GPA, t (437), 0.77, p>.05.
Table 5 shows that 47(7.8%) of the students know the
presence of counseling service center at university. Never-
theless, the majority of students 553(92.2%), do not have
awareness about the counseling center. The result certain-
ly shows that among students who know the location of the
center35 (5.8%). It is located in Robe main campus. How-
ever, 8 (1.3%) students wrongly answered that counseling
service is located in Goba campus.
Among those who are aware about the counseling center,
81.8%students know that the center provides psychological
counseling service.
Data on sources of information regarding the center
shows that 11(1.8%) of the students received information
about counseling center through freshman orientation while
the majority, 26(4.3%) of the students get their information
from a friend.
About 30(5%) of the students visited the counseling cen-
ter for mental health problems; 25 (4.1%) of them visited the
center for the sake of interpersonal relationship problems;
19(3.1%) to consult on heterosexual relationship among
themselves. Out of the 16(2.6%) students that acquired
counseling service at the university counseling center were
able to solve their problem whereas the remaining 29(4.8%)
of the participants did not solve their problem as a result of
the counseling service. At least, 30(5.0%) students knew an-
other student who had gone to University counseling center
seeking psychological assistance.
The result of independent t-test shows that there was no
significant difference in CGPA between students who visited
and did not visit the counseling service center, t (18) =.16,
p=.87. Similarly, there was no significant difference in CGPA
of students who had disability and not disability, t (527) =
1.7, p =.08.
Table 3. Descriptive statistics for cgpa and gpa by sex and residential status
Sex of respondent Cumulative grade point average (cgpa) ‑ for all
preceding semesters
Grade point average (gpa) ‑ for the last
semester
M SD M SD
Male 2.83 0.47 2.87 0.47
Female 2.70 0.47 2.83 0.47
Total 2.80 0.47 2.86 0.47
Cgpa for all preceding semester and gpa/for the last semester based on residential status
Urban 2.78 0.46 2.83 0.46
Rural 2.80 0.48 2.88 0.47
Table 4. Independent t-test for CGPA and GPA for Male
and Female Students
t df p
CGPA 3.05 603** 0.00
GPA 0.77 437 0.43
**p<0.01

5. Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students 57
S.No Item N %
1 Have you ever heard of a psychological counseling service?
Yes 47 7.83
No 553 92.1
I am not sure 0 0
Total 600 100.0
2 Is there a center that provides psychological counseling services in your university?
Yes 36 71.8
No 6 6.5
I am not sure 2 4.5
Total 44 7.4
3 Where is the counseling center in your university?
Goba campus 8 1.3
Robe campus 35 5.8
I do not know 2 0.3
Total 45 7.4
4 How did you learn about the existence of the counseling centre in your university?
Through freshman orientation program 11 1.8
From a friend 26 4.3
From an instructor 6 1.0
From a pamphlet/brochure 0 0
Through my own effort 2 0.3
Total 42 7.4
5 Do you know the services that are available at your university counseling centre?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
Total 45 7.4
6 Have you ever visited your university counseling center seeking help?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
Total 45 7.4
7 What was your reason for visiting your university counseling centre?
My education 34 5.6
My current/future career development 0 0
Mental health (depression, anxiety 30 5
My interpersonal relationship 25 4.1
Love life/heterosexual r/ship 19 3.1
Inability to adjust to campus life 19 3.1
Financial support 13 2.1
Other (specify) 0 0
8 How do you rate the quality of the services in your university counseling centre?
Very good 3 0.5
Satisfactory 5 0.8
Poor 8 1.3
Total 16 2.6
9 Did the service you were provided with at your university counseling center solve your problem?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
Table 5. Students’ awareness about the counseling center of the university
(Contd...)

6. 58 IJELS 7(4):53-61
Table 6 gives how students have prioritized the roles and
functions of counseling service center. More than 60% of
the study participants gives top priority for outreach inter-
vention, research, training program, individual and group
counseling, referral resource, program evaluation, and pro-
fessional development. Majority of the students also gave
top priority for crisis intervention and emergency services
and consultation intervention services. In recent years, there
used to be fight or conflict between students from different
regions of the country studying in the same University. This
was cause for trauma and tension among some students.
Also, especially during exam time many students have high
levels of depression, fainting in the class and the like. These
situations handled by the counseling center fall under the title
crisis intervention and emergency services. In addition, the
table shows that crisis intervention and emergency services
were moderate priority and individual and group counseling
least priority as compared to the other counseling service
roles and functions.
Periodically, the counseling center conducts training for
students to improve their coping with stress, study habits,
career decisions and the like. These are covered under the
title training in Table 7. Students had only given moderate
priority to crisis intervention and training. Hence, we have
checked if there is significant variation by socio-demograph-
ic variables for these two components of intervention carried
out by the psychological counseling center.
Most of the students (59%) suggested that crisis interven-
tion and emergency service deserve great attention. Similarly
(23.3%) students have suggested that this counseling service
should be given moderate attention. However few students
attached low priority to crisis intervention and emergency
services. In addition, students’year of study was significantly
associated with the students rating of crisis and emergency
services, χ2
(9)=23.40, p<.01. There was also a significant dif-
ference in prioritizing crisis and emergency services based on
residential origin of students, χ2
(3) = 4.05, p<.01. Students
from rural areas attached higher priority for crisis and emer-
gency intervention than those from urban area.
As shown in Table 8, importance given to training pro-
gram had significant association with residential status and
admission type. Majority of those who gave top priority for
training program were from rural areas. Among regular stu-
dents, majority gave top priority to training program. Also,
among extension students, majority gave top priority to
training program.
DISCUSSION
The result indicates, that nearly 7.8%, of the students had
information about the center and its location (see table 5)
while, about 2.6% of the students reported that they know
the types of service provided, and the student visited the cen-
ter, and able to rate quality of the counseling center found
at University. As a result of this finding, we can conclude
that students have very limited information on counseling
services. The result of this study supported the findings of
Furr, Westefeld, McConnell, & Jenkins (2001) that had a
similar reason of seeking the counseling service for men-
tal health problem. Male (30%) students have ever heard of
a psychological counseling service than female. However,
Hyun, Quinn, Madon, and Lustig (2006), found that (82.1%)
female students knew of on-campus available counseling
services when compared to male students.
Table 6. Roles and functions of counseling service center
Variables Top % Moderate % Low % Unknown %
Crisis intervention and emergency services 357 59 141 23.4 54 9 52 8.6
Outreach interventions 367 60.6 122 20 59 10 57 9.4
Research 379 62.5 128 21 57 9 46 7.5
Training program 367 60.6 122 20.2 68 11 48 8
Individual and group counseling 383 63.3 115 19 42 7 65 10.7
Consultation intervention 360 59.5 138 22.8 57 9.4 50 8.3
Referral resource 372 61.1 128 21 62 10 43 7
Program evaluation 366 60.5 131 21.7 61 10 47 7.8
Professional development 368 60.8 124 20.5 65 10.7 48 8 8
S.No Item N %
I am still receiving counseling 0 0
Total 45 7.4
10 Do you know any other student who has gone to your university counseling center seeking counseling ?
Yes 30 5.0
No 15 2.5
Total 45 7.4
Some students have visited the counseling center for more than one reason.
Table 5. (Continued)

7. Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students 59
University counseling services and students mental health
issues have got considerable attention over the past several
years. Various studies have drawn attention to the growing
mental health needs of students, and the positive impact of
counseling services on college students(Sharkin,2004) and
(Getachew, Daniel, & Abayineh, 2019, Shakurina, Borvayeh
& Elhampour, 2015). All counseling services usually pro-
vide some form of individual counseling or psychotherapy
with additional services varying tremendously among cen-
ters (American College Health Association, 2012; 2014;
Poyrazli, 2015). In this study majority of the students gave
top priority for individual and group counseling.
Study findings indicate that crisis intervention and emer-
gency services deserve great attention in counseling services
roles and functions on guidance and counseling programs
at University. In today’s, university counseling roles such
as career/vocational counseling, individual and group coun-
seling, training and supervision, outreach/prevention, con-
sultation, referral are important(Bishop, 2006; Shakurina &
Khajeali, 2016). A discussion with the representatives from
different clubs in the university indicated that the counseling
center did not provide the appropriate services to the stu-
dents. Most of the students had even no information about
the existence, its function, types of service provided, and its
location in the university. In the university academic atmo-
sphere, the guidance and counseling practice is an efficient
and effective way of supporting and helping students deal-
ing with problems and issues in educational, career and per-
sonal/social area (Day, 2004; Giovazolias, Leontopoulou, &
Triliva, 2010; Karimi, Muthaa, Bururia, Karimi & Mburu-
gu, 2014). Other studies in the country also has shown that,
guidance-counseling service is an essential aspect in assist-
Table 7. Association of socio-demographic variables on crisis intervention and emergency services
Variables Top Moderate Low I do not know x2
df p
% % % %
Sex
Male 40 18 7.27 7.1 9.24** 3 0.02
Female 18.51 5.28 1.65 1.48
Total 59 23.3 8.9 8.59
Year
Year i 26.6 6.28 2.97 4.29 23.40** 9 0.00
Year ii 19.17 9.7 2.64 1.98
Year iii 11.57 6.28 3.14 1.81
Year iv 1.65 0.99 0.16 0.49
Total 59 23.3 8.9 8.59
Residential status
Urban 24.95 8.9 2.64 2.97 4.05** 3 0.00
Rural 33.38 14.38 5.61 5.61
Total 58.34 23.3 2.14 8.59
Table 8. Association of socio-demographic variables on training program
Variable Top Moderate Low I do not know x2
df p
% % % %
Sex
5.17 3 0.07
Male 43.96 13.55 9.09 6.28
Female 16.69 6.6 2.14 1.65
Total 60.66 20.16 6.28 7.93
Year
14.11** 9 0.03
Year i 25.45 7.1 4.79 2.97
Year ii 21.48 7.1 2.97 1.98
Year iii 12.56 4.62 3.14 2.47
Year iv 1.15 1.3 0.33 0.49
Total 60.66 20.16 11.23 7.93
Residential status
Urban 42.7 37.7 3.8 2.14
Rural 57.3 62.3 7.43 2.47
Total 59.83 20.16 11.23 7.93 6.40** 3 0.01

8. 60 IJELS 7(4):53-61
ing students’ awareness of their strengths and weaknesses
(Alutu, 2004; Marín, 2006; Salgong, Ngumi & Chege, 2016).
According to Ferdinand (2006), there are a greater num-
ber of counselors in educational institutions; however, due
to large caseloads assigned to them, they cannot sufficient-
ly manage it. The result of this study also recognized that
the current working counselors were not proportional to the
number of students’ who required professional counseling
services. In some cases, certain resources, such as office
equipment, internet services, updated written reference and
contacts and were unavailable for both students and counsel-
ors. The study recommends student diversity, academic level
of performance, trained professionals, accessibility of the of-
fice, and types of the service available, types of psycholog-
ical disorders and assistant personnel should be assigned to
counseling centers.
CONCLUSION
This study result indicates that the proportion of the students
who had information about the counseling center and know
its location is very few. Also, the students were aware of the
types of services provided, they visited the center, and were
able to rate the quality of the counseling center found in their
university. As a result, access to adequate academic, career,
emotional, social, or interpersonal problems, and financial
concerns, information is limited.
Furthermore, the result of this study showed that male
students have information about psychological counseling
services than female. The source of information about the
availability of counseling center was from friends. May be
due to, information gap significant difference observed on
CGPA and GPA among male and female, which indicates
male scored higher than female.
In relation to counseling services roles and functions this
study found that,individual and group counseling, consulta-
tion interventions, referral resources, program evaluation,
professional development, crisis intervention and emergen-
cy services, outreach interventions, training, and research
were important elements in designing or developing or eval-
uating counseling service roles and functions on guidance
counseling program of the university. The finding also indi-
cates socio-demographic variable such as sex, academic year
level, admission type, and residential status has a significant
effect on the elements of counseling roles and functions.
The students suffered from various psychological, social,
financial, and educational problems. As a result, of the need
for collaborative work with administrative personnel, teach-
ers, students, families and other relevant bodies to provide
effective guidance counseling service. Counseling benefits
in handling the student’s problems, preventing the overall
academic difficulties, in supporting and enhancing healthy
growth. Individual and group guidance counseling, drugs,
and alcohol prevention, HIV/AIDS, consultation interven-
tions, training programs, and other relevant activities, should
be incorporated into the program designing of counseling
service center.
In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate a lack of
information about the types of services offered. The univer-
sity needs to have more professional counselors in different
campuses to solve students’ academic-related issues and the
greater number of intervention modalities.
These recommendations for research and practice were
based on the finding and conclusions of this study. There-
fore, it is recommended that:
• The university provide professional guidance and coun-
seling services for its students
• The university raise awareness and bring a change
among the university management bodies about the
guidance and counseling services through appointing
independent, and dedicated counselors to enhance the
quality services.
• The counseling roles such as individual/group guidance
counseling, program development, outreach services,
research, training should be encouraged in the counsel-
ing service center program of the university under in-
vestigation.
• To be effective and efficient guidance counseling ser-
vices, policy, planning, need assessments, monitoring
and evaluation must be considered.
• Treatment modalities such as biophysical, psychologi-
cal and pharmacological should be incorporated in the
process of rendering counseling service center of the
university.
• The university counseling center should have an inde-
pendent mission, vision, and values to provide proper
counseling service for the needy.
• The university counseling center should have relevant
stakeholders within the organization and mode of com-
munication with students’ clinic, clubs in the university,
campus police, faculties, student affairs, students’ food
services, administrators and others.
• The counseling service center should be accountable
to the psychology department, and the university presi-
dent.
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